Public pummels Parks and Rec budget

Friday

May 3, 2013 at 12:19 PMMay 6, 2013 at 9:32 PM

The house was packed Wednesday at City Hall, filled with a sea of green from the local youth athletic teams, athletic team coaches and dozens of community members as the council deliberated over budget decisions.

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

The house was packed Wednesday at City Hall, filled with a sea of green from the local youth athletic teams, athletic team coaches and dozens of community members as the council deliberated over budget decisions.While Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ponek found himself questioned by the council over his budget recommendation to cut $220,000, the public voiced options, opposition and support for the local facilities and programs.The public was critical to some of the solutions Ponek provided.Ridgecrest resident George “Andy” Anderson questioned at least a few of the fee structures for the city's facilities, including Pinney Pool.“I would like to see one set of revenues for Ridgecrest city residents and a higher fee for people from other cities,” Anderson said. “If you're maintaining it with taxpayer dollars, it should either be exclusively for taxpayers or those people pay a higher fee.”Anderson questioned Ponek's estimation of manpower to upkeep Jackson Park at its fullest, calling on Parks and Recreation to revaluate its needs if the city required the department to cut $220,000.Mike Neel called on the city to look at the salaries of department heads and staff, beginning with parks and recreation.“You've got lots of people in this valley that oversee more money, more people and equipment than at the city level and make $40,000 less,” Neel said.Local resident Morgan Ramirez showed concern for not offering a soccer season that had been cut, citing her son had been asking to play.“Not being able to have that option makes me consider moving,” Ramirez said. “I really want to give my kids the best options I can and if he shows some natural ability and I can't offer it to him until he's older, I'm not doing the best I can for him.”Jed McLaughlin, president of the IWV Burros, said that his league was voted on as the organization of the year in its conference.“I'm not standing here asking for help, we don't ask for help,” McLaughlin said. “We do it on our own and that's what we've been doing the whole time.”He said the youth baseball teams and volunteers had only asked the city to turn the water on for the fields.“We heard on Saturday that the city wants to turn the fields over to us in the shape they are in,” he said. McLaughlin proposed instead that the city put in the promised $2.5 million in Tax Allocation Bonds and then return to the option.“What I ask is the council do what is promised and fix it (Kerr McGee Sports Complex) and then ask our leagues for help,” McLaughlin said.Ridgecrest resident Dave Matthews asked for clarification over Freedom Park and what portions entailed it, calling on the city to make a distinction for the area.“My definition of Freedom Park is everything between the gazebo and City Hall,” Matthews said. “Freedom Park is a significant thing and I don't want to go tearing it up. We can take care of problems, but the grass in Freedom Park needs to stay.”Possible community solutionsLocal resident Mike Tosti approached next, reiterating a previous statement from Saturday's budget meeting. Tosti had said an organization was ready to take over management of Jackson Sports Complex once it reverted to the county's control.Tosti said he had spoken with Desert Area Resources and Training about some aspects of maintaing Jackson Sports Complex, and that the organization had already written a letter of intent to the county.“I have just in the four days since Saturday acquired two sponsors for youth soccer at Jackson Park that will cover everything, and the same for flag football.” Tosti said. “I'm not sitting still, I'm trying to keep the teams there and I will keep them there.”Vice Mayor Chip Holloway asked Tosti what programs he was prepared to take over coordinating. Tosti said youth flag football, youth soccer and adult softball in addition to helping out high school programs.Additionally, Tosti said he had agreements in place for agreements to tend to the browning fields.“The fields are browning and are in terrible shape,” Tosti said.Holloway asked what it would look like if a hybrid program was implemented where the city maintained the fields and Tosti and his people did some of the field striping.Tosti replied it would be no problem, given his extensive experience on the matter.The more heart jerking moment was when Michael and Cleave, two young baseball players who were led by business owner Yusef Odeh up to the podium, spoke to the council.“We play baseball, please save our fields,” the two boys said before Odeh took over.Odeh thanked the city and staff for listening to the input before offering a valid solution to the budget challenges Parks and Recreation faced.“I've asked on numerous occasions what we can do for these fields,” Odeh said. “There are a lot of people in the community that are willing to step up if we get an OK.”Odeh's solution: Organizing a financial committee from various organizations tasked with finding ways to generate funding or solutions.“Our various technologies and organizations should be able to advance us, not hold us back,” Odeh said. “There are ways to get things done, we just can't sit around.”Paul Vanderwerf put out that there were assets available to the community, including football lights he could provide that would shave the cost off the city's budget dilemma.Additionally, the support of the community and volunteers could be harnessed to help upkeep the fields, especially if it meant xeriscaping out Freedom Park.“You can take a sod machine and I can find 100 football players that can take those rolls of grass over to the fields,” Vanderwerf said.